photo Skylar Stockman
Girls volleyball sets up a spike against Atlee
Godwin’s girls volleyball team achieved a perfect regular season for the first time in the program’s history, with a record of 20-0.
“I think the biggest key to our success this year is our ability to play as a complete unit. One aspect of our team hasn’t done it without the other. Everyone on this team knows their role and what the need to do to make an impact. Everyone has bought into the true nature of the word team,” said coach Chris Wakefield.
The team’s regular season success reflected an offseason that required dedication from each and every player. The preparation started long before the girls even hit the court.
“[During the] offseason we have open gyms throughout the summer. Preseason we have two a days every single day of August from 6:30-12:00 and take lot of ice baths to take care of our bodies,” said senior Charlotte Clyde.
Their work during the summer paid dividends for the team, and they feel they have greatly improved since the start of the season.
Experience from many of the upperclassmen has allowed the underclassmen to develop quickly this season.
“We have several upperclassmen that are used to the culture and ways of the team. And as a result, we are able to teach the new players these ways,” said junior Hanna Cillo.
Despite a perfect regular season, the team feels like it has not completed its ultimate goal.
The team still feels like they need to play “more clean volleyball.”
“I truly believe that we are equally great in every aspect of our team. It really has been great to watch this thing manifest throughout the season,” said Wakefield.
The team continues to work hard and try and get better every day.
“We need to work on having less mistakes in the game because we are capable of it, but still have a lot of careless errors,” said Clyde.
A perfect regular season culminated a culture of hard work and dedication. Also, challenging wins against Deep Run, Glen Allen, and Atlee boosted the teams confidence.
“Glen Allen and Deep Run are both rival schools, and it always feels amazing to beat them both at home and away,” said Cillo.
Achieving a perfect season requires everyone on the team to sacrifice much of their free time. This unselfish attitude has contributed to the teams success.
“We have given up a lot of time and sacrificed things like going to football games and stuff so that is why I think we have been so successful since we all know the team is our number one priority,” said Clyde.
The team remained unbeaten in the first two rounds of the regional tournament after defeating Freeman and Glen Allen but suffered their first defeat against Atlee in the regional final.
That loss set up a meeting with Princess Anne in the first round of the state tournament.
Against the number one team in the state, Godwin suffered their second defeat of the season to end their 2018 campaign with a record of 22-2.
“We did well against Princess Anne, they are a really good team, they deserve to win states. We tried hard, but could not pull out a win,” said junior Carmen Wright.
Despite the first round exit in states, the team is still satisfied with their overall accomplishments.
“Yes, I am pretty satisfied, 22-2, it’s pretty good,” said Wright.
